In the past few decades, Lebanon has allowed the Hezbollah terror militia and several Palestinian terror groups, including Hamas, to use its territory to plan and launch attacks against Israel. Hezbollah, Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad – the three major officially-designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations operating in Lebanon – are all armed and funded by Iran.
The Lebanese government and army have done nothing to stop these terrorist organizations from establishing military bases, placing an estimated 150,000 rockets and missiles -- some precision-guided, in addition to "new weapons" -- along its 75-mile southern border, and turning Lebanon into a launching pad for attacking Israel, a country smaller than New Jersey (Israel: 22,145 sq.km, 8,630 sq.mi; New Jersey: 22,590 sq.km, 8,722 sq.mi). Many of the leaders of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad are currently based in areas controlled by Hezbollah in the Lebanese capital of Beirut and other parts of the country.
For the past few years, the leaders of these three terror groups – Hezbollah, Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad – have been holding regular meetings to coordinate and advance their campaign of terrorism against Israel. They have made no secret of the meetings and often issued statements and photos about their intention to escalate the "resistance" against Israel.
In early January, the Lebanese government filed a complaint with the United Nations Security Council over Israel's alleged assassination of Hamas arch-terrorist Saleh al-Arouri in Beirut. Al-Arouri, already before October 7, had been responsible for a series of terror attacks against Israelis, including the 2014 abduction and murder of three Jewish teenagers in the West Bank.
Al-Arouri was such a threat that the US State Department offered a reward of up to $5 million for information on him. According to the State Department:
"Al-Aruri funds and directs Hamas' military operations in the West Bank and has been linked to several terrorist attacks, hijackings, and kidnappings. In 2014, al-Aruri announced Hamas' responsibility for the June 12, 2014 terrorist attack that kidnapped and killed three Israeli teenagers in the West Bank, including dual U.S.–Israeli citizen Naftali Fraenkel. He publicly praised the murders as a 'heroic operation.'"
In its complaint to the Security Council, the Lebanese government failed to mention that al-Arouri, a wanted terrorist leader, had found shelter in Beirut and that the Lebanese authorities never did anything to arrest him or stop him from pursuing his terror campaign against Israel.
The Lebanese government cannot say that it was unaware of al-Arouri's presence in the country: he himself never hid that he was in Beirut, where he held meetings with other terrorist leaders and gave interviews to Arab media outlets.
The Lebanese government is now shedding tears over the death of a senior Hamas terrorist who had demonstrated total disregard for Lebanon's sovereignty and security by using the country as a base for planning and executing terrorism.
Addressing the Security Council, the Lebanese government described the killing of al-Arouri as the "most dangerous phase" of Israeli attacks on the country. Lebanon's formal complaint stated that Israel had used six missiles in the attack that killed al-Arouri and accused Israel of using Lebanese airspace to bomb Syria.
It is good to see that the Lebanese government has finally woken up to notice that Lebanon is on the verge of a new war with Israel.
The war, if and when it erupts, will be in response to terror attacks, including 12,000 rockets and missiles launched by Hezbollah and Hamas against Israel just since October 7. In just one day, January 6, 2024, Hezbollah fired 40 rockets from Lebanon into Israel. Think of New Jersey being attacked by 12,000 rockets and missiles, or 40 rockets in one day. These attacks include firing thousands of missiles into Israeli towns and attempts by terror cells to infiltrate over the border into Israel. Some 80,000 Israelis living near the Israel-Lebanon border have since been displaced as a result of the daily attacks on their communities.
On the same day that the complaint was filed against Israel, Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah revealed in a speech that his terror militia had conducted around 670 armed attacks against Israel since October 8.
Instead of blaming Hamas and Hezbollah for dragging Lebanon into another war, the Lebanese government is rushing to accuse Israel of killing a Hamas fugitive and violating Lebanese airspace to attack Syria.
Israel, importantly, did not attack Syria. Instead, Israel has been attacking Hezbollah and Iranian terrorists and military bases in Syria, in response to missiles fired into Israel from Syrian territory. Like the Lebanese government, the Syrian regime is also doing nothing to stop the attacks against Israel from its territory.
Instead of criticizing Israel for defending its citizens against the Hezbollah and Hamas attacks, the Lebanese government should enforce Security Council Resolution 1701, according to which Hezbollah was supposed to withdraw all its terrorists north of the Litani River in southern Lebanon. The resolution called for deploying Lebanese and UNIFIL forces to southern Lebanon, the disarmament of armed groups, including Hezbollah, and the need for the Lebanese government to fully exert control over the area.
Not only has Lebanon failed to enforce the UN resolution, but it has also allowed Hezbollah to launch missile attacks against Israel.
"If you're concerned about a spillover of the conflict, demand the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701. We will not tolerate the ongoing displacement of 80,000 Israelis and shelling of their homes," said Israeli government spokesperson Eylon Levy.
Any attack on Israel from within Lebanese territory is the responsibility of the Lebanese government. The Lebanese government, however, rejects any responsibility for allowing Iran's proxy terror groups to fire missiles into Israeli towns.
Lebanon has been in flagrant violation of Resolution 1701 since 2006, of course with no consequences. Similarly, the UN has never enforced its own Article 2(4) under which member states are not permitted to threaten each other. The UN, it would seem, is actually an instigator and conservator of war.
The Lebanese government is also ignoring warnings by its own citizens against permitting terrorists to drag Lebanon into a war with Israel.
Lebanese journalist Tony Abi Najem commented on Hezbollah's military provocations, no doubt backed by Iran, to drag Israel into a war:
"They [Hezbollah] have no authority to open a front with Israel. Who told Hezbollah they could do this? Unfortunately, destruction in south Lebanon [from Israeli bombardments] is great. What is happening in the south is reflected in Lebanon's economy, which is in bad shape to begin with. Hezbollah are good in dragging us from one disaster to another. They are good at destroying [Lebanon]."
Lebanese Maronite Patriarch Cardinal Bechara Boutros al-Rahi also lashed out at Hezbollah, warned against plunging Lebanon into war, and "for the good of Lebanon," urged all sides to honor Security Council Resolution 1701.
Referring to the missile attacks against Israel, al-Rahi said:
"It must be stopped and the Lebanese, their homes, and their livelihoods must be protected... We demand the removal of any missile platform planted between homes in southern towns..."
It is worth noting that, according to an analysis by the Israel Defense Forces of rockets launched at Israel on December 29, 2023 by Hezbollah, 80% of those rockets fell inside Lebanon. Not only does Hezbollah continue to violate UN Resolution 1701, the terrorist organization also actively puts Lebanese lives at risk.
Tony Boulos, another Lebanese journalist, expressed concern over the presence of Hamas terrorists in Lebanon:
"Armed Palestinian militias and organizations roam with their weapons and equipment in the city of Sidon in a clear and explicit humiliation of Lebanese sovereignty. Let these militias and those who sponsor them leave Lebanon. It is unacceptable for Lebanese lands to remain a hotbed for rogue militias around the world."
It is worth noting that the Lebanese government, which is furious with Israel for allegedly killing senior Hamas terrorist Saleh al-Arouri in Beirut, has been unable to solve many of the political and economic crises facing Lebanon.
Lebanon's parliament has failed to elect a new president for the country since President Michel Aoun left office more than a year ago. The deeply divided parliament has met several times to elect a successor and every time has failed. Meanwhile the political paralysis has worsened, and measures to alleviate a crippling economic crisis that has pulled three-quarters of the population into poverty have stalled.
Lebanon was once known as "the Switzerland of the Middle East." Yet, since Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution, Lebanon has become a hostage of Hezbollah, which functions in the country as a state-within-a-state. Recently, the International Monetary Fund warned that Lebanon, a year after it committed to reforms it has failed to implement, was "in a very dangerous situation." Lebanon's economy has been crippled by the collapse of the Lebanese currency, which, since 2019, has lost some 98% of its value against the US dollar, thereby triggering triple-digit inflation, and spreading both poverty and a wave of emigration.
The political, economic and security crises in Lebanon, however, appear inconsequential to the Lebanese government, whose representatives are now whining over the death of al-Arouri.
Had the Lebanese government and army stopped Hezbollah and Hamas from using Lebanon as a launching pad for Jihad (holy war) against Israel and Jews, there would be no need for another war. Had the Lebanese government prevented Hezbollah from establishing a state-within-a-state in its country, Lebanon would likely have avoided the crises it is currently experiencing.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken should be addressing Lebanon, the Palestinian Authority and the United Nations about their accountability, concessions and compromises; not Israel.
It is high time for the UN and all its agencies, including the Security Council, to toss out anti-Israel complaints, including the latest one from Lebanon. Failing to do so will just once again expose the double standards -- really, no standards -- of the UN and once again throw the Middle East and the US into further violence and bloodshed.
Bassam Tawil is a Muslim Arab based in the Middle East.
M J Jones